What do umbrellas, flagships, keystones and cultures have to do with lions...let alone a man running the London marathon?
Lions as Umbrella species.
They are big bodied animals that cover large tracts of land and occupy the pinnacle of the food pyramid and that means that if we manage our land with the conservation of lions in mind then we, by default, conserve their prey and their landscapes!
Lions as Flagship species.
Lions are bold, beautiful animals that ooze sex appeal and confidence. They are photogenic, regal, proud and courageous and all of these manmade labels only add to their allure. That allure brings benefits and focus to the areas where lions are found and the species that they live with that perhaps would otherwise slip away unnoticed in today’s world.
Lions as keystone species.
Lions have been instrumental in the evolution of the animals they prey on, their competitors (including us) and even the savannas they occupy to a degree that we are only really beginning to understand now. By managing the way that herds of livestock (in the place of buffalo and bison) graze and move across a landscape desertification can be reversed and even climate change perhaps! This is done by mimicking as closely as possible the way pack hunting predators (like wolves and LIONS) would have moved large herds of grazing animals around the savanna. It is fact that grasses in Africa have evolved in response to grazing animals and those evolved in response to predation pressures from lions! We are talking globally important here!! (Check out Allan Savory on www.ted.com)
Lions in human culture.
I touched on it in another post but lions, it can be argued, are probably the most culturally important animal in human history. We evolved in the same place, competed for the same resources (including caves in France). As separate species, we have both crossed continents and frozen seas and at one time occupied almost every corner of the earth. We have even both learnt that to cooperate amongst ourselves is to ensure our survival. Take up my challenge and count how many lion images you see in your average day and you will see what I am banging on about.
Lions are in steady decline across Africa with a high percentage of their mortality being assigned to "conflict with man". I think I am correct in saying that there were a half million lions in Africa in 1950 and only about thirty thousand today!
We celebrate our "superior intellect" all the time so why, I ask, can't we outsmart our oldest competitor using brains not bullets and poison?
Lions as Umbrella species.
They are big bodied animals that cover large tracts of land and occupy the pinnacle of the food pyramid and that means that if we manage our land with the conservation of lions in mind then we, by default, conserve their prey and their landscapes!
Lions as Flagship species.
Lions are bold, beautiful animals that ooze sex appeal and confidence. They are photogenic, regal, proud and courageous and all of these manmade labels only add to their allure. That allure brings benefits and focus to the areas where lions are found and the species that they live with that perhaps would otherwise slip away unnoticed in today’s world.
Lions as keystone species.
Lions have been instrumental in the evolution of the animals they prey on, their competitors (including us) and even the savannas they occupy to a degree that we are only really beginning to understand now. By managing the way that herds of livestock (in the place of buffalo and bison) graze and move across a landscape desertification can be reversed and even climate change perhaps! This is done by mimicking as closely as possible the way pack hunting predators (like wolves and LIONS) would have moved large herds of grazing animals around the savanna. It is fact that grasses in Africa have evolved in response to grazing animals and those evolved in response to predation pressures from lions! We are talking globally important here!! (Check out Allan Savory on www.ted.com)
Lions in human culture.
I touched on it in another post but lions, it can be argued, are probably the most culturally important animal in human history. We evolved in the same place, competed for the same resources (including caves in France). As separate species, we have both crossed continents and frozen seas and at one time occupied almost every corner of the earth. We have even both learnt that to cooperate amongst ourselves is to ensure our survival. Take up my challenge and count how many lion images you see in your average day and you will see what I am banging on about.
Lions are in steady decline across Africa with a high percentage of their mortality being assigned to "conflict with man". I think I am correct in saying that there were a half million lions in Africa in 1950 and only about thirty thousand today!
We celebrate our "superior intellect" all the time so why, I ask, can't we outsmart our oldest competitor using brains not bullets and poison?
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